


Rainy Day Remembrance

by Azar



Series: Ariel [1]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-12
Updated: 2011-08-12
Packaged: 2017-10-22 13:18:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/238441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azar/pseuds/Azar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim rescues Blair and Ariel from a cloudburst and remembers his first introduction to Ariel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rainy Day Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> This story was the first piece of Sentinel fanfic I ever wrote and in spite of the fact that, since I never finished some stories in the chronological middle of the series, I'm still pretty proud of it. Yes, it revolves (more or less) around an original character, but to this day I still hold that she was too flawed to be a true Mary Sue. I created Ariel because there weren't a whole lot of good, interesting female characters in The Sentinel, and those there were never stuck around very long. She wasn't originally written as a love interest for Blair either, even if the series did eventually develop in that direction. I know the fact that she isn't a canon character will be enough to make a lot of people avoid her, and that's their choice. But I remember that when I was in Sentinel fandom, if you were a het fan, you were in a very small minority (most people were either in it for the slash or the gen) and didn't have a lot to read, so I'm putting this series out there just in case there's anyone out there now who's in the position I was then. I do however, um, apologize for the time jumps. There were some stories in the middle of the chronology that just never got finished. :-\
> 
> Thanks to Nancy Taylor, my wonderful beta-reader for this piece, with special thanks for the truck check. And to the two preservers of my dubious sanity, Eryn and DebC.

He spotted them huddled in the doorway of the building, as far away as they could get from the edge of the slight overhang without actually stepping back inside. Both were clutching vulnerable book-bags, one leather, one nylon but not woven tightly enough to be even remotely waterproof.

Focusing in closer on the two unhappy lurkers, Jim chuckled. Two heads of curly hair were inflated by the humidity in the air, creating a brown and red cloud around their respective faces. Two pairs of eyes, one blue, one blue-green, stared miserably out at the gray torrent.

Still chortling in amusement, Ellison pressed one hand gently on the horn, dialing up his hearing as soon as the "harnk" had faded.

"I don't believe this. He's just going to sit there?" Blair's disgruntled voice reached the Sentinel's ears. "Thanks a lot, Jim." Jim just smiled even more broadly.

After a moment of no activity, probably hoping to force him to come fetch them (as if that would change anything, since he didn't bring an umbrella), the two figures began hurrying through the downpour towards the truck.

"Geez, Jim, park as far from the building as you can find," Sandburg grumbled as soon as he reached the vehicle and pulled the door open.

His eyes still sparkling with mischief, Jim put a hand out to stay the younger man. "You're going to sit in the middle, right, Chief?"

"What?! Uh uh. No way, man. That's not only cramped, it's downright dangerous, the way you drive."

"Well, unless you'd rather stay here or sit on the lady's lap..." the detective teased.

Blair turned back to look at the young woman. He bobbed his eyebrows flirtatiously. "Why doesn't she sit on *my* lap?"

There was an amused feminine laugh from behind the anthropologist. "You heard him, Blair, get in. Quickly, before I catch pneumonia."

Still mumbling under his breath, Sandburg scurried into the seat, while the red-haired young woman climbed in beside him and quickly pulled the door closed. She shivered and ran a pale hand through the curls the water had not only tamed but rendered a darker auburn than their usual bright shade. The car's other long-haired occupant shivered as well.

"What took you so long?" he demanded.

Jim shook his head in amusement. "A little rain won't kill you."

"Speak for yourself!" two voices chorused from beside him.

"Besides," the redhead added emphatically. "That was not 'a little rain.'"

"I seem to remember you saying on several occasions that you had no problem with rain," Jim pointed out as he pulled the truck out of the parking lot.

"I enjoy a nice warm, light summer rain. But they don't seem to *have* that kind around here."

"Guess you'd better go back to Pennsylvania, then."

"Back to *freezing* rain?? I don't think so."

The detective laughed.

"You trying to get rid of her or something, Jim?" Blair asked. He was still shivering in the damp flannel, but had forced his clattering teeth into a smile and had a genuine sparkle in his eyes.

Ellison shook his head innocently. "Just trying to save you both any unnecessary discomfort, Chief."

"Oh. Yeah. Thanks for the ride, by the way," the young woman apologized sheepishly.

"No problem. I think I can spare a few minutes to rescue you two from an unexpected cloudburst," he teased.

"I think I'm never leaving the loft again without my umbrella," Sandburg groused.

"I think I'm never leaving my dorm again, period," the third party in the car agreed.

"Wouldn't that make it rather difficult to pass your classes, Red?" Jim asked her with a smile.

She winced a little, and instantly sobered. "Yeah, I guess it would."

The detective grimaced. "Sorry, Ariel."

Ariel Jensen smiled. "That's okay. I promised myself it would never happen again, and it won't." A mild giggle escaped her. "Even if it means I have to get drenched on a weekly basis."

"I don't know if I mentioned this before, Ariel, but I'm really proud of you," Blair contributed to the now-serious conversation, the glow in his eyes confirming his words. "I mean, Dean's List only one semester after..."

 _After I almost flunked out. Yeah, I guess that is something._ "Thanks." The young woman squeezed his hand affectionately. "I couldn't have done it without you guys."

"You're a lot stronger than you think, Red." Jim smiled at her.

"That may be, but I still appreciate what you guys did for me. Even if you weren't too thrilled about it at the time." Ariel's eyes twinkled as she looked back at Jim.

He shrugged. "I never had a problem with you, just with the way we were introduced."

The young redhead began to laugh again. "Oh yeah..."

*****

Six months earlier...

Jim was only mildly surprised to hear the sound of two heartbeats as he focused his hearing on the other side of the loft door, both of them beating in the lulled rhythm of sleep. _Great. Sandburg brought a date home again,_ he sighed.

He pushed the door open, dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and hung up his coat before he realized that the unfamiliar breathing he heard was coming from the couch. Curious, he crossed the room to stand by it and studied the girl lying there. She seemed younger than his partner's usual taste, but older than her years. Curls as rebellious as Blair's, but much redder, tumbled around and over her face, and her full lips were slightly open. She was pretty, he concluded, but not beautiful. Certainly not as striking as the knockouts Sandburg usually went for.

The only puzzling thing was the fact that the young woman was alone on the sofa. Somehow, it just didn't seem like Blair's style to abandon a paramour on the couch and go alone to his bed.

 _Whatever. I'm too tired to try to unravel the eternal mystery of Sandburg's love life tonight._ With that thought, he headed upstairs.

*****

Both heartbeats were still echoing in his ears when he woke the next morning. A burst of laughter from downstairs--quickly hushed by Blair--immediately followed that discernment.

"Sorry, Ariel, my roommate's just a really light sleeper."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't tell me you had a roommate."

"Yeah, well I didn't tell him about you either--guess I hadn't figured out how on either account." He sounded embarrassed.

"I still can't believe you got me up this early," she shrugged off the confession. Her voice was cheerful, even though there was a surprising undercurrent of sadness to it.

"I sorta got into the habit of making Jim breakfast, I didn't mean to wake you. Which *I* should be doing, by the way--breakfast, I mean."

"Don't be so paranoid," she teased. "I've been told I have quite a gift with scrambled eggs."

"Yeah, but you don't know as much as I do about Jim's allergies."

The sounds of a spatula scraping against a pan suddenly stopped. "Oh."

Jim chuckled and hauled himself out of bed.

*****

"Morning, Chief," the detective greeted his roommate with a yawn as he entered the kitchen. "Who's our guest?"

His partner's heart rate spiked, which caused one of Jim's eyebrows to raise.

"Uh, Jim, this is Ariel Jensen. She was a student of mine last semester. Ariel, Jim Ellison."

She smiled at him, but there was still something lacking in it.

"Your student, Sandburg? Doesn't the University frown on that sort of thing?"

Sandburg blushed and Ariel also turned bright red. "Geez, Jim, I do have a few female *friends*, you know," the younger man grumbled.

 _If she's just a friend, then what is she doing here?_ The detective raised his hands in a gesture of apology and surrender. "My mistake. Now, do I smell scrambled eggs?"

"You might want to be careful of those, Jim," Blair warned, only half teasing. "From what I could see, she went through the spice cupboard and dumped in anything that looked interesting."

Jim sniffed. _Egg...milk...cheese...oregano...garlic...onion...parsley...salt...pepper...maybe a little bacon...well, at least there's no sage..._

"Sorry," Ariel apologized. "Blair warned me about your allergies...but I'd already thrown everything in."

"Tell you what, why don't I try a bite and let you know?"

She looked a little dubious, but nodded. "All right, but if you keel over dead, I am *not* taking the blame."

The Sentinel saw his Guide's shoulders relax at the banter, and the disapproving eyebrow rose even higher in response. _Don't get too comfortable, Sandburg. I still want to know what this girl is doing here, and why you didn't tell me yesterday that you were bringing her home._

Sandburg had the good sense to look ashamed under the Sentinel's stare.

The young woman finished ladling the eggs onto three dishes and handed one to each of the men. She smiled uncertainly at the older of the two, and he returned it with a reassuring one of his own.

"I can tell you what I put in it, if you like," she half apologized.

The detective just continued to smile. "I'll take my chances."

*****

"These are really good. Hey, Jim, maybe Ariel should take over making breakfast while she's here."

"And how long will that be, Chief?" The question was asked mildly, but it stopped the other man mid-bite. Ariel had finished her breakfast a few minutes before, and was currently borrowing the bathroom to shower and dress.

"Ah...yeah, we should probably talk about that..." Blair murmured over his eggs.

"We probably should," Jim agreed.

The younger man grimaced. "Look, Jim, it's only for a few days, I promise. Ariel's been struggling a lot this semester, and I just wanted to give her a chance to get back on her feet. She doesn't have a roommate, and most of her friends have either transferred or are spending a semester abroad. Plus, her grandfather just died and I get the impression they were pretty close--"

Ellison held up a hand to stop the monologue. "Okay, I get the idea, Chief. She can stay."

Sandburg grinned in relief. "Thanks!"

"But just for a few days," the Sentinel emphasized. "I don't have any more spare bedrooms and I am *not* putting French doors on the couch."

*****

...six months later

"French doors on the couch--now that would have been an interesting sight," Ariel laughed.

"Yeah, but not half as interesting as...uh, Jim, is there a reason you're leaving campus already?" Blair interrupted himself. He watched as the campus security office and the sign proclaiming "Rainier University" flashed past.

Jim's face remained impassive as he turned to look back at his partner. "You didn't think I was going to come all the way out here just to give Ariel a ride across campus to her dorm, did you?"

Sandburg nodded. "Okay, so where are we going?"

"Oh, I thought I'd treat you two to dinner."

"You did?" The younger man looked astonished. "Um, that's great. You definitely won't hear me complaining. Man, what's got you in such a good mood?"

Jim just smiled innocently and ignored the question. "So, Red, where would you like to eat?"

Mischief creeping into her eyes, Ariel nevertheless managed to keep her voice casual. "I'm not in the mood for anything expensive. Wonderburger would be fine."

Blair suddenly sat up straighter. "Oh, no. Not Wonderburger. Do not do this to me, man!" He twisted his face into his most pathetic, miserable puppy dog expression. "Ariel...Jim..." he pleaded.

The detective grinned. "Sorry, Chief. I think you're outvoted."


End file.
